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The Barrel Store

10/11/2017 12:29

Written by Bradt Travel Guides

Creating guidebooks is an all-consuming job, so each year the staff at Bradt HQ recharge their batteries by going on a company outing. This year we travelled to Cirencester, a town in the Cotswolds to stay at the New Brewery Art's upmarket hostel The Barrel Store. Managing Director Adrian Phillips tells us more...

‘We’ve been rather British about promoting ourselves – just that little bit embarrassed to shout about what we have here!’ says Beth Alden, CEO of The Barrel Store. What they have is something special.

The Barrel Store started life as – yes, you guessed it – a store for barrels, part of a Cirencester brewery that was built in the 18th century and had its own well supplying 5,000 gallons of water a day for the beer-making process. After the brewery closed in the 1930s, some of its buildings served as a factory for manufacturing Spitfire parts during World War II and more recently as the home for a theatre.

When the theatre’s star faded, New Brewery Arts – a charity focused on supporting working artists – stepped in to create a lively creative hub at the heart of town. Several studios were set up in the buildings, providing space for artists to ply their trades. There are now painters and ceramicists and glass-blowers; one lady specialises in making beautiful leather-bound journals, another in crafting vibrant scenes from panels of stained glass. You can buy their pieces, of course, but you can also simply watch them while they work. Think of it as a sort of artsy zoo.

Furthermore, there’s a good café, temporary exhibitions by famous figures like Grayson Perry, and a programme of masterclasses offering something for all abilities and most ages (five-year-olds and up), from regular pottery workshops to single-day courses in weaving baskets or making espadrilles! It’s an energising, inspiring and entertaining little patch.

And it’s now also an accommodating one. Two years ago, the charity decided to convert the old barrel store into an upmarket hostel, catering not only for those attending the arts courses but for anyone looking for somewhere affordable and central to stay during their city visit. The Barrel Store has 14 guestrooms, most of them en-suite and ranging from singles to rooms sleeping four that are perfect for families or groups. There’s a comfortable communal room with kitchen and dining area. And, to cap it off, it is extremely eco-friendly, laying claim to being the UK’s first Passive House public building and using 50% less energy than standard buildings of its type. Characterful, comfortable, good value and as green as green can be – The Barrel Store ticks all the boxes for a ‘slow’ break in the Cotswolds.